Chapter 359 - 334: Black Star’s Intelligence

Chapter 359: Chapter 334: Black Star’s Intelligence

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi entered the bar. They had assumed that with so many drunks on the street outside, the bar would be even more packed, but they were surprised to find that wasn’t the case.

The whole place was nearly deserted. Only a few tables and the area around the bar were occupied, with most of the booths empty. The dance stage was covered in a layer of dust, looking like it hadn’t been used in ages.

Black Star led the two to an empty table. "Can I get you two a drink? The liquor here isn’t half bad."

He said this while looking at Shangyuan Zi, who was wearing a mask and sunglasses. He chuckled. "This client is certainly well-covered. You don’t have to worry, though. Your identity will never be leaked here. Please trust the professional ethics of my line of work."

Shangyuan Zi didn’t respond.

The scales that had spread from her neck to her chin and her serpentine pupils were far too conspicuous, and she had no desire for anyone to see them.

"Let’s skip the pleasantries," Guan Tong said. "We should get this commission over with as soon as possible."

"Alright. Wait here, I’ll go get it."

After speaking, Black Star stood up, walked to an inner door of the bar, and went inside.

"Do you think he’s reliable?" Guan Tong asked Shangyuan Zi.

"I don’t know. But Rijeka is the son of the former Governor and the brother of the current one. Could information about him really be that easy to obtain?"

The commission Guan Tong had posted was, in fact, about Rijeka.

The rivalry between Yelena and Rijeka for the position of Governor was no secret. After she took office, plenty of related information was dug up and posted online.

In this era, as long as you could offer enough Sublimation Coins, you could buy almost any service or piece of intelligence.

Even in top-secret, critical departments, information leaks were a constant problem. It had gotten to the point where many special organizations had to use lie-detector-type items for periodic spot checks or comprehensive screenings.

Guan Tong needed to settle a score with Rijeka, but first, he had to find out where the man was.

There were three ways to go about it.

He could either search on his own, pay for information, or contact Yelena and ask.

He almost immediately ruled out the first and third options.

Searching on his own was too inefficient. Not all countries were the same, after all.

He had investigated matters on his own back in the Andai Kingdom, but that was a small nation with only two medium-sized cities, Antu and Banzhen, which could hardly even be called large.

Sisiya, on the other hand, was an out-and-out superpower, with a land area hundreds of times that of the Andai Kingdom. If he tried to find Rijeka himself, it was debatable whether he’d succeed, and he didn’t want to be delayed here for so long.

Besides, investigating Rijeka on his own would inevitably involve some of Sisiya’s key departments. Since he had a connection of sorts to Yelena—who was now the Governor—he didn’t want to cause her any trouble if he could help it.

This was also one of the reasons he ruled out the third option of contacting Yelena directly.

As for any other reasons, there was the fact that Rijeka was, after all, Yelena’s biological brother. If she knew Guan Tong was coming to settle a score, how would she react? Would she ignore it or try to stop him?

After weighing all the factors, Guan Tong decided to keep his arrival in Sisiya from Yelena as much as possible and use Sublimation Coins to post a commission to make the search more efficient.

"Black Star is famous on the forums—to be more precise, famous in the Sisiya section," Guan Tong explained. "He’s a well-known Ascender broker in this country."

"An information dealer, in other words."

"More like a middleman. He might not have much intelligence himself, but he can connect commissioners with people who do, taking a portion of the reward as a finder’s fee."

"So his reputation must be pretty solid," said Shangyuan Zi.

Guan Tong nodded. The most important thing for a middleman was their reputation. Since Black Star was highly praised on the forums, he should be reliable enough.

Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of faked reviews. The "Bomb Man," Wu Wang, and his crew had done that before.

Just in case, Guan Tong had released multiple Shadow Lines to stand guard both inside and outside the bar before he entered. He would be able to detect any danger immediately.

The two waited for about two minutes before Black Star returned, holding a laptop.

He placed the laptop on the table and opened a folder full of files on Rijeka.

"Is it okay to show me this here?"

Guan Tong glanced at the other people in the bar. Although there weren’t many, there was still a risk of a leak.

Black Star grinned. "Don’t worry. This bar is mine, and these people are all my men."

He clapped his hands, and everyone else looked over in unison. They all looked capable and extremely alert.

Guan Tong gave a slight nod. Seeing his calm expression, Black Star’s eyes lit up. "In the past, some clients would see this and worry this was a set-up. But you seem to have a lot of trust in me."

"I trust myself. If this place were a trap, I’d just tear it down."

"Er, haha..."

Black Star let out an awkward laugh and showed the contents of the files to Guan Tong.

The files had everything: Rijeka’s personal information, various photos, and even records of his childhood. His current location was also marked on a map.

"This intel..."

"You think it’s incomplete?"

"No, it’s too complete."

The files even included Rijeka’s blood type, hobbies, and his food preferences. It was as if it had been written by someone who had watched him grow up.

Black Star seemed to guess what Guan Tong was thinking. "The person who provided this information is, of course, one of Rijeka’s most trusted confidants," he explained. "It’s just that... well, since you’re investigating Rijeka, you must know about his failure to become Governor."

"With that failure, he’s basically finished. He has himself to blame for being so ruthless and leaving himself no way out. And this confidant of his... ahem, certainly doesn’t want to go down with the ship. So, while there’s still time, he wants to sell this information, earn some coins, and skip town."

Hearing this, Guan Tong looked up and asked, "Is the information reliable?"

"That’s something you’ll have to verify yourself. Of course, if there are any major issues, I’ll provide after-sales service as the middleman—I’ll give you the information provider’s details so you can settle the score with them."

"Fine. Go ahead with the transaction."

At his side, Shangyuan Zi heard this and completed the Sublimation Coin transaction with Black Star.

After receiving the payment, Black Star immediately packed up the laptop and handed it to Guan Tong, beaming. "Thank you for your business! Please leave a good review on the forum~"

"If I confirm the intel is accurate, I will."

With that, Guan Tong stood up, took the laptop, and left with Shangyuan Zi.

After the two left the bar, a woman from the counter walked over to Black Star and glanced curiously at the door. "Do those two look like they’re from North Star? What do they want with information on Rijeka?"

"That’s not something a middleman needs to worry about," Black Star said with a smile. "All we need to know is that he’s a big spender."

The woman looked at him. "How much did you get from this one?"

Black Star held up four fingers.

"Forty percent?" The woman was a little surprised. "That’s quite a lot."

"Well, the person selling the intel was in a hurry."

"To be in such a rush to sell off such important information for cheap... it seems Rijeka really has no chance of making a comeback."

"Who told him to be so ruthless? According to my intel, even the military got involved. That’s a huge taboo," Black Star said with a sly chuckle.

"Our current Governor may be young, but she’s no pushover. What do you think she’ll do...? Besides, I heard that our Governor spent some time in North Star last year."

The woman’s heart skipped a beat. "Could those two be connected to the Governor?"

"You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Black Star gave the woman a light shove. "Stop gossiping and go check the forums for new commissions. You think it’s easy for me to support a few dozen of you...?"